A military policemen stands in position during a violent protest in a favela next to Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro on April 22, 2014. (AFP Photo / Christophe Simon) / AFP

Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro has erupted into violence after a popular TV dancer was allegedly killed by police in a slum, just a few hundred meters away from a venue for the 2016 Olympics. Angry local residents bombarded police with homemade weapons.

The Pavao-Pavaozinho favela, which is not far from Copacabana, a
major tourist destination in the city, was closed after residents
gathered, demanding to know why Douglas Rafael de Silva Pereira
had been killed. The 25 year-old was well known for appearing on
Brazilian television as a dancer. Locals blamed the police for
his death.

Gun shots could be heard, while many fires had been started
within the vicinity. There were also a number of burned-out cars,
as inhabitants clashed with elite police units who had been
brought in to try and restore order.

“The police beat my friend to death, just like they've
tortured and killed in other communities,” local resident
Johanas Mesquita told AP. “This effort to pacify the favelas
is a failure. The police violence is only replacing what the drug
gangs carried out before.”

Brazil’s O Globo newspaper also reported that a 12-year-old boy
had been shot dead in the resulting clashes. It was not clear who
killed him.

The latest violence comes just six weeks before the 2014 World
Cup is due to take place in Brazil, with Rio de Janeiro hosting
the final. England’s squad has chosen their base for the event in
Copacabana, not far from where the rioting took place.

The aquatics center, which will host the swimming events at the
Rio 2016 Olympics, is located just couple of hundred meters away
from where the clashes took place.

With the spotlight on the country after it won the right to host
the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, a security program was
implemented in 2008 to try and pacify the favelas, which had
become over run by drug gangs. However, heavy-handed tactics have
brought condemnation from local residents and have led to
frequent clashes between law enforcement officers and those
living in the slums.